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Almost Famous [2000]

Starring: Billy Crudup, Zooey Deschanel, Patrick Fugit, Jimmy Fallon, John Fedevich
Director: Cameron Crowe
Format: Anamorphic Dubbed PAL Widescreen
Released: 16 Apr 2007
RRP: £5.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Capturing the moment - By: Jay Zee, 22 Nov 2007
This film beautifully captures the moment before Rock became an industry when it was unsophisticated & naïve; alll seen through the eyes of our hero. It also captures the moment stylisticallly with the hair curlers & mini skirts & alll the rest. The cast plays it well without any of the undoubted talent stealing the scene from any other. Near perfect
Well worth a look - By: Ellis M. Robertson, 12 Aug 2007
Almost Famous is a very well written movie & is one of my favourites to date.

Almost famous is about a boy growing up in the 70s who gets to go out on the road with Stillwater (a fictional band). 15 year old William, played by patrick fugit starts off writing for cream magazine & when his work is seen by the rolling stone he is whisked off into a world of sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll. where he meets pennylane (a famous bandaid) & fallls in love with her, only thing is shes in love with Stillwaters gutarest russal hamond.

this movie is full of emotion to the highest extent. We see anger & fighting between the band members. We see sadness from Williams mother after she lets him go. We see excitment when theres a near plane crash. We see love & romance through out the film between Penny lane, Russel hamond & william.

over alll this is an amazing film & is well worth a look!
really cool - By: Sally, 01 Jul 2007
great acting great music.. great evocation of the seventies without being too schmalzy
"Almost" hits the mark - By: E. A Solinas, 11 Jan 2006
As I was born in the 1980s, I can only check out the era of blossoming rock'n'roll (Rolling Stones, the Doors, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin) through books & movies. And here's the ideal movie: "Almost Famous," a semi-autobiographical movie about the 1970s rock scene, gives a glimpse of the life of a young reporter, based on Crowe himself.

When William's sister (Zooey Deschanel) left home, she gave him her collection of records: the Who, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, & many others. When William (Patrick Fugit) is fifteen he manages to get a writing assignment with Creem, & then with Rolling Stone magazine to write about the rising band Stillwater. William fallls in with the Stillwater guys & their circle of adoring groupies, including an effervescent blonde, Penny Lane (Kate Hudson).

Despite the displeasure of his controlling but loving mom (she claims adolescence is a marketing ploy), William accompanies Stillwater across the country. He keeps trying to get an interview with guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), but Russell is too busy shagging Penny & diving off rooftops. But after Penny attempts suicide, William realizes the drugs, sex & rock'n'roll are only a veneer for what reallly matters.

"Almost Famous" is a fantastic mixture of expose & tribute -- there's music, there's romance, there's comedy. We get to see inter-band conflict (who's the star?), groupies, rock journalism, & the unfortunate aftereffects for groupies. Yet the sort-of-romance between Penny & William is very sweet, rooted in genuine affection.

Both the glamour & the grit is shown here. The dialogue sparkles -- "Last words: I dig music... I'M ON DRUGS!", "Forgive me Father, for I may sin tonight,""I'm about to boldly go where... many men have gone before." A few of the lines border on silliness, but never go over that elusive border.

And the direction is superb -- it cuts forward just when it needs to; the camera follows people out onto the dizzying stage & then zooms in for intimate close-ups. Nowhere else could a stomach-pumping scene actuallly contain an element of romance. And Crowe even throws in some well-timed pratfalll humor, like Anna Paquin running into a cement walll.

The heart & soul of this film are wide-eyed Patrick Fugit & Kate Hudson, one as a naive young boy who is swimming with rock'n'roll sharks, & the other as a fragile groupie who fallls in love despite herself. Billy Crudup & Frances McDormand back them up as a lovable yet hateable rocker, & William's weird yet loving mother, who just wants her son back.

Music lovers & rock aficionados will love "Almost Famous," a bittersweet coming-of-age comedy/drama/music movie. A rare treat. When & where does this "real world" occur?